I for one don't like WEC's marketing, but I do see the marketing reasons for doing so. I do not believe this is targeted precisely to the average MMA fan (even if that happens to take place), but to target individuals that want to see extreme hardcore ****, and thus expand WEC's customer base.

It is my opinion that although we still have the beer-belly Hooters fan who still prefers to see a slugfest (who doesn't), the average MMA fan is being educated more and more about MMA as a whole. The average MMA fan today is not the same as the one four years ago.

We are moving towards a situation where people are not only discerning but appreciating the difference between a technical MMA fight (however brutal it is) and a 'tuffman slugfest - nothing wrong with the later, but they are completely different beasts.

WEC marketing is to attract those who still want to see the entertainment, the freakshow, rather than the actual combat sport (either they want to see it or can't tell the difference.)

Think "Never Back Down" :tard:

An average MMA fan is, to me, someone that wants to see a "fight", probably identifies with a particular fighter or two, and probably has a rudimentary understanding of MMA terms and vocabulary, ie, knows what a rear-naked choke is. These people are attracted to the spectacle of the promotion, so, promoting the more violent or extreme aspects of the show makes sense for the promoters wanting to attract more people to the spectacle. Also, the smaller shows have to differentiate somewhat from UFC if they want to grow.

I suppose that compared to the average MMA fan of 4 years ago there is a difference if you're talking about the overall sample. However, today's average UFC fan base is much more diverse but the fan of the hardcore fight is still the base.

And UFC definitely promotes "extreme" violence, it's just packaged a whole lot slicker. How many times did I see the highlight of Frank Mir snapping Tim Sylvia's arm in the leadup to Mir vs. Lesnar?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teh El Macho

Elaborate.

Maybe it's just me. I've read posts on here the last couple of days from people bemoaning the use of violence in promotional devices for smaller MMA shows. "OMG, THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE DOWNFALL OF MMA!!!!1"

Perhaps that would be a problem, except, that the activities/instances in the promotions are often actual footage taken from prior fights. Is it right to promote based the whole show based on the most violent aspects? Maybe, mabye not. But it does help put butts in the seats and to pretend that MMA is not violent, bloody, and sometimes extreme is disingenous.

2/14/2008 12:20pm,

Vulgar42Ox

I dont really get the marketing either. They advertise it like its pro wrestling, and dont treat it like a real sport like NFL, or NBA, NHL, MLB, instead we have this almost sideshow abomination in late night time slots. Great fighters, bad bad marketing. A different company needs to pick up WEC, VS. sucks.

2/14/2008 5:58pm,

el dangeroso

Could it be that Versus is the "redneck channel" ? Fishing, rodeo, deer hunting, and guys beating the **** out of each other and not being apologetic about it. What else does the redneck fan need? WEC's advertising is just trying to appeal to it's demographic. Maybe Zuffa designs UFC's advertising to appeal to a more sophisticated crowd.

2/14/2008 6:15pm,

Bizzaro Root

the focus on tribal tatoos makes me want to vomit
but the always have great fights and alot of title defences and the fighter seem more hungry.

2/14/2008 8:05pm,

Teh El Macho

Quote:

Originally Posted by kismasher

Maybe it's just me. I've read posts on here the last couple of days from people bemoaning the use of violence in promotional devices for smaller MMA shows. "OMG, THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE DOWNFALL OF MMA!!!!1".

Well, it depends. Some people still histerically think McCain is after the UFC, even though MMA has grown to the point of being mainstream.

Quote:

Originally Posted by el dangeroso

Could it be that Versus is the "redneck channel" ? Fishing, rodeo, deer hunting, and guys beating the **** out of each other and not being apologetic about it. What else does the redneck fan need? WEC's advertising is just trying to appeal to it's demographic. Maybe Zuffa designs UFC's advertising to appeal to a more sophisticated crowd.

Those first two have to be pretty old, since neither Razor Rob or Doug 'the retard' Marshal are champoins anymore. The third one is a concept they stole from the UFC. I think ads like these are directed at people that are already fans of MMA, not people new to the sport. Hence the more 'extreme' nature.